GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

WHAT DOES THE WORD "GEOTHERMAL" MEAN?

"Geothermal" comes from the Greek words geo (earth) and thermal (heat). So,
geothermal means earth heat.

WHAT IS GEOTHERMAL ENERGY?

Our earth's interior - like the sun - provides heat energy from nature. This heat -
geothermal energy - yields warmth and power that we can use without polluting the
environment.
Geothermal heat originates from Earth's fiery consolidation of dust and gas over 4 billion
years ago. At earth's core - 4,000 miles deep - temperatures may reach over 9,000
degrees F.

HOW DOES GEOTHERMAL HEAT GET UP TO EARTH'S SURFACE?

The heat from the earth's core continuously flows outward. It transfers (conducts) to the
surrounding layer of rock, the mantle. When temperatures and pressures become high
enough, some mantle rock melts, becoming magma. Then, because it is lighter (less
dense) than the surrounding rock, the magma rises (convects), moving slowly up toward
the earth's crust, carrying the heat from below.
Sometimes the hot magma reaches all the way to the surface, where we know it as lava.
But most often the magma remains below earth's crust, heating nearby rock and water
(rainwater that has seeped deep into the earth) - sometimes as hot as 700 degrees F.
Some of this hot geothermal water travels back up through faults and cracks and
reaches the earth's surface as hot springs or geysers, but most of it stays deep
underground, trapped in cracks and porous rock. This natural collection of hot water is
called a geothermal reservoir.
HOW HAVE PEOPLE USED GEOTHERMAL ENERGY IN THE PAST?
From earliest times, people have used geothermal water that flowed freely from the
earth's surface as hot springs. The oldest and most common use was, of course, just
relaxing in the comforting warm waters. But eventually, this "magic water" was used (and
still is) in other creative ways. The Romans, for example, used geothermal water to treat
eye and skin disease and, at Pompeii, to heat buildings. As early as 10,000 years ago,
Native Americans used hot springs water for cooking and medicine. For centuries the
Maoris of New Zealand have cooked "geothermally," and, since the 1960s, France has
been heating up to 200,000 homes using geothermal water.

HOW DO WE USE GEOTHERMAL ENERGY TODAY?

Today we drill wells into the geothermal reservoirs to bring the hot water to the surface.
Geologists, geochemists, drillers and engineers do a lot of exploring and testing to
locate underground areas that contain this geothermal water, so we'll know where to drill
geothermal production wells. Then, once the hot water and/or steam travels up the wells
to the surface, they can be used to generate electricity in geothermal power plants or for
energy saving non-electrical purposes.

HOW IS ELECTRICITY GENERATED USING GEOTHERMAL ENERGY?

In geothermal power plants steam, heat or hot water

from geothermal reservoirs provides the force that
spins the turbine generators and produces electricity.
The used geothermal water is then returned down an
injection well into the reservoir to be reheated, to
maintain pressure, and to sustain the reservoir.
There are three kinds of geothermal power plants. The
kind we build depends on the temperatures and
pressures of a reservoir.

1) A "dry'" steam reservoir produces steam but very little water. The steam is piped
directly into a "dry" steam power plant to provide the force to spin the turbine generator.
The largest dry steam field in the world is The Geysers, about 90 miles north of San
Francisco. Production of electricity started at The Geysers in 1960, at what has become
the most successful alternative energy project in history.
2) A geothermal reservoir that produces mostly hot water is called a "hot water reservoir"
and is used in a "flash" power plant. Water ranging in temperature from 300 - 700
degrees F is brought up to the surface through the production well where, upon being
released from the pressure of the deep reservoir, some of the water flashes into steam
in a 'separator.' The steam then powers the turbines.
3) A reservoir with temperatures between 250 - 360 degrees F is not hot enough to flash
enough steam but can still be used to produce electricity in a "binary" power plant. In a
binary system the geothermal water is passed through a heat exchanger, where its heat
is transferred into a second (binary) liquid, such as isopentane, that boils at a lower
temperature than water. When heated, the binary liquid flashes to vapor, which, like
steam, expands across and spins the turbine blades. The vapor is then recondensed to
a liquid and is reused repeatedly. In this closed loop cycle, there are no emissions to the
air.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE ADVANTAGES OF USING GEOTHERMAL ENERGY TO

GENERATE ELECTRICITY?
 Clean. Geothermal power plants, like wind and solar power plants, do not have to
burn fuels to manufacture steam to turn the turbines. Generating electricity with
geothermal energy helps to conserve non-renewable fossil fuels, and by
decreasing the use of these fuels, we reduce emissions that harm our
atmosphere. There is no smoky air around geothermal power plants -- in fact
some are built in the middle of farm crops and forests, and share land with cattle
and local wildlife. For ten years, Lake County California, home to five geothermal
electric power plants, has been the first and only county to meet the most
stringent governmental air quality standards in the U.S.

 Easy on the land. The land area required for geothermal power plants is smaller
per megawatt than for almost every other type of power plant. Geothermal
installations don't require damming of rivers or harvesting of forests -- and there
are no mine shafts, tunnels, open pits, waste heaps or oil spills.

 Reliable. Geothermal power plants are designed to run 24 hours a day, all year.
A geothermal power plant sits right on top of its fuel source. It is resistant to
interruptions of power generation due to weather, natural disasters or political rifts
that can interrupt transportation of fuels.

 Flexible. Geothermal power plants can have modular designs, with additional
units installed in increments when needed to fit growing demand for electricity.

 Keeps Dollars at Home. Money does not have to be exported to import fuel for
geothermal power plants. Geothermal "fuel'" - like the sun and the wind - is
always where the power plant is; economic benefits remain in the region and
there are no fuel price shocks.

 Helps Developing Countries Grow. Geothermal projects can offer all of the above
benefits to help developing countries grow without pollution. And installations in
remote locations can raise the standard of living and quality of life by bringing
electricity to people far from "electrified" population centers.
HOW MUCH ELECTRICITY IS FROM GEOTHERMAL ENERGY?

Since the first geothermally-generated electricity in the world was produced at

Larderello, Italy, in 1904 the use of geothermal energy for electricity has grown
worldwide to about 7,000 megawatts in twenty-one countries around the world. The
United States alone produces 2700 megawatts of electricity from geothermal energy,
electricity comparable to burning sixty million barrels of oil each year.

WHAT ARE SOME NON-ELECTRIC WAYS WE CAN USE GEOTHERMAL ENERGY?

Geothermal water is used around the world, even when it is not hot enough to generate
electricity. Anytime geothermal water or heat are used directly, less electricity is used.
Using geothermal water 'directly' conserves energy and replaces the use of polluting
energy resources with clean ones. The main non-electric ways we use geothermal
energy are DIRECT USES and GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMPS.

DIRECT USES Geothermal waters ranging from 50 degrees F to over 300 degrees F,
are used directly from the earth:

 'to soothe aching muscles in hot springs, and health spas (balneology);

 to help grow flowers, vegetables, and other crops in greenhouses while snow-
drifts pile up outside (agriculture);

 to shorten the time needed for growing fish, shrimp, abalone and alligators to
maturity (aquaculture);

 to pasteurize milk, to dry onions and lumber and to wash wool (industrial uses);

 Space heating of individual buildings and of entire districts, is - besides hot spring
bathing - the most common and the oldest direct use of nature's hot water.
Geothermal district heating systems pump geothermal water through a heat
exchanger, where it transfers its heat to clean city water that is piped to buildings
in the district. There, a second heat exchanger transfers the heat to the building's
heating system. The geothermal water is injected down a well back into the
reservoir to be heated and used again. The first modern district heating system
was developed in Boise, Idaho. (In the western U.S. there are 271 communities
with geothermal resources available for this use.) Modern district heating systems
also serve homes in Russia, China, France, Sweden, Hungary, Romania, and
Japan. The world's largest district heating system is in Reykjavik, Iceland. Since it
started using geothermal energy as its main source of heat Reykjavik, once very
polluted, has become one of the cleanest cities in the world. Geothermal heat is
being used in some creative ways; its use is limited only by our ingenuity. For
example, in Klamath Falls, Oregon, which has one of the largest district heating
systems in the U.S., geothermal water is also piped under roads and sidewalks to
keep them from icing over in freezing weather. The cost of using any other
method to keep hot water running continuously through cold pipes would be
prohibitive. And in New Mexico and other places rows of pipes carrying
geothermal water have been installed under soil, where flowers or vegetables are
growing. This ensures that the ground does not freeze, providing a longer
growing season and overall faster growth of agricultural products that are not
protected by the shelter and warmth of a greenhouse.
GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMPS

Animals have always known to burrow into

the earth, where the temperature is relatively
stable compared to the air temperature, to
get shelter from winter's cold and summer's
heat. People, too, have sought relief from
bad weather in earth's caves. Today, with
geothermal heat pumps (GHP's), we take
advantage of this stable earth temperature -
about 45 - 58 degrees F just a few feet
below the surface - to help keep our indoor
temperatures comfortable. GHP's circulate
water or other liquids through pipes buried in
a continuous loop (either horizontally or
vertically) next to a building. Depending on
the weather, the system is used for heating
or cooling.
Heating: Earth's heat (the difference
between the earth's temperature and the
colder temperature of the air) is transferred
through the buried pipes into the circulating
liquid and then transferred again into the
building.
Cooling: During hot weather, the continually
circulating fluid in the pipes 'picks up' heat
from the building - thus helping to cool it -
and transfers it into the earth.
GHP's use very little electricity and are very
easy on the environment.
In the U.S., the temperature inside over
300,000 homes, schools and offices is kept
comfortable by these energy saving
systems, and hundreds of thousands more
are used worldwide. The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency has rated GHP's as
among the most efficient of heating and
cooling technologies